Five strange objects left in rental cars

Ever left something behind in a hired car you’ve returned? Seems you’re not alone. But, whatever you mislaid, it’ll not come close in strangeness to the list put together by the carhirex.com web site.

Complete human skeleton

If that wasn’t enough to give a hapless car valeter the jitters, the one lurking in the boot of a returned Toyota Camry saloon had been blackened (to make it spookier) and dressed in tattered clothing. As you might expect, the rental firm called the police.

They soon discovered, though, that the skele’s past was more innocent than imagined. It had done service in a school science lab before being seconded for use in a college drama production – hence its appearance and ghoulish garb.

A toupee. Found on the armrest in the rear of a saloon car. Although expensive-looking and well kept, the car’s last customer claimed to know nothing about it.

A glass eye. Discovered rolling around the floor of a vehicle returned to a Manchester hire depot. Although clearly of medical origin and not a toy, neither the most recent customer nor the one before claimed it.

A suitcase full of cash. Left in a car returned to Heathrow airport. This time the owner returned promptly to collect it.

A mud-wrestling trophy. Awarded for Mississippi State, 2nd place. Another one that nobody claimed. However, the valeting team that found it reported that the car was ‘amazingly clean inside’, considering.

Fake breasts

And here’s another from the police files. In Seattle, 31yo Jonathan Harty (pictured) is currently cooling his heels in jail. Police arrested him after he crashed into 3 other vehicles on the highway in the early hours.

At the scene, Harty was found trouserless and wearing a pair of fake female breasts. Police also discovered a full bottle of urine and a pair of women’s panties at his feet. Tests later showed that he was high on meth.

The state jailed him for 29 months and banned from driving for 7 years. It was his third DUI offence. And Harty’s excuse? He thought he had dreamt that he was in a car crash.

Turning to the positive

Finally, this car dealer in Alberta, Canada shows that any setback can be turned to your advantage – if you’re positive enough about life.

When thieves struck at his Ford dealership, stealing wheels and tyres from pick-up trucks and a Mustang sports car, he made a tongue-in-cheek ad. The radio commercial ended with a play on his usual brand slogan: ‘Northstar Ford: the way the ratting-out-your-friend experience should be’. The deadly serious part was the $20,000 reward he offered to catch those responsible.